


The Ugly Werewolf

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fairy Tale Retellings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-21
Packaged: 2018-05-15 06:13:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5774536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Week Three: A retelling of a fairytale.</p><p>A retelling of The Ugly Duckling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ugly Werewolf

**Author's Note:**

> This is week three in the _[52 Week Writing Challenge](http://ourwritingtherapy.tumblr.com/post/135439311691/52-short-stories-in-52-weeks)_ . If you have any story ideas you'd like to see go along with any of these prompts let me know.

At the dawning of spring a baby boy was born to a happy ma and da. He wasn’t a spectacular looking thing. He was somewhat strange looking. Too little. Too bald. Too pale. Big ears. Big nose. But his ma and da loved him as he was and nurtured him and cared for him. Even when he was made fun of for wearing glasses at four by the boys in the village. Even when those boys called him a mama’s boy for being attached to her skirts and staying inside reading, instead of running through puddles and getting muddy. Even when he cried because he was too short to reach the biscuit jar on the kitchen counter.

One night the little boy, nearing five in just days, was out in the garden as the night grew dark. He had seen a dog from his window. Since his ma and da were busy rowing over Adult Things, he took the chance to go outside and pet the dog. The boy loved animals with all of his tiny heart because they were never mean to him. But this dog wasn’t a dog. Nor was this dog nice to the little boy. This dog was a wolf, a vicious thing that leapt at the boy and hurt him. The little boy nearly died but he didn’t remember that.

When he woke up in hospital, he found out that he was now a werewolf. He thought that maybe it was cool. The little boy did like animals, maybe he could be a nice wolf. But he parents didn’t think it was as neat as he did. They were always crying. Maybe it was because he was even uglier now that he had scars from where the wolf had bit and scratched him. Soon he found that it wasn’t cool to be a wolf. It hurt. He hurt himself when he changed and his bones ached and his tummy hurt too much to eat. The boys in the village were scared of him now. The whole village was scared so ma and da moved their little boy far away so they could raise him in peace.

As the years went on and the boy grew uglier. He got taller and his ears were still too big for his head and his arms too long. He got more scars. He was still pale. But at least he didn’t have to see the boys from the village so he didn’t really care too much what he looked like. He could be alone with his books and his ma and da. He learned to let his imagination grow from the stories he read and the house was always filled with music. The only days the little boy wasn’t content were the few days before and after the full moon, when his body would hurt and his stomach would be upset.

But that all became upset when an old man with a long white beard came to their cottage. The boy liked him very much because he played a game with him and gave him sweets. The old man and his parents told him that he could go to a school with other kids. He would be kept way from them, safe, when he changed into a mean wolf. The boy didn’t want to go but his parents made him because he needed to learn to be a proper wizard, they said. They also said he needed to make friends. He had cried all the way to the train station and he was still sniffling when he got on the train to the school. He just wanted to stay home and read his books and stay in the safe comfort of his bed.

The boy noticed that he was the ugliest of all the children. Not only that but his clothes and robes were old and worn, second hand. He could feel the judging eyes of the rest of the students on him as he took his seat to be sorted into a house. It was all made worse when he met the boys he was going to be rooming with. One of them was pretty, the boy thought. He wasn’t sure if he should call another boy pretty but this one — Sirius— was. The other two boys were normal looking, James and Peter. None of them had any scars. All of their clothes were nice and new. They were all out going and nice.

Even to the boy. He didn’t know how to react to them so he kept his distance. They kept trying to make him join in, in games but he never did. Whenever the full moon would come along, the boy would say he was going to home because his ma was sick. One time they even made her a card for him to bring home. The boy didn’t understand why they were so nice to him when he was ugly and strange and quiet. But he liked them so he tried a little harder not to be so strange and awkward. He was worried about getting close to them because they could find out he was a werewolf and be mean to him. Then he’d have to leave school, even though he actually liked his lessons — even if he didn’t like other people very much.

Only a two months into his second year, the boy was cornered by his roommates — who he now considered his friends against all the odds. He was vey concerned that they were no longer going to be his friend anymore. Especially when they told him that they knew that he was a werewolf. Instead of being scared or hating him, they told him they wanted to help. They were going to become animagi for him. The boy was sure that he did not deserve such friendship.

In third year and fourth year the bonds with these amazing boys grew stronger. He ran wild with them and stopped caring about how ugly he was. The boy was so happy.

Fifth year brought pain and betrayal. But the boy accepted it because he was who he was. Even though he had been so happy for so long. His friends had all finally become animagi and he no longer hurt himself during the full moon. It would have all been great but then it all fell apart because Sirius had gone and told Snape about the Shrieking Shack. Snape didn’t like them and he didn’t like the boy now more because he was a werewolf. The boy felt hurt by his best friend but he understood that, that was how it was supposed to be. He was a monster and Sirius was a Black. Sirius was temperamental and made bad choices and hurt people. But Sirius cried and asked the boy to forgive him. Then when the boy forgave him so quickly, Sirius was angry because he was supposed to be angry for longer apparently. But he wasn’t because he understood what he was and what he deserved. They eventually made up and things returned to normal.

In sixth year the boy hated himself even more. He started to fall in love with Sirius. So now not only was he ugly, poor, awkward, and a werewolf… he was gay. He was sure that it wasn’t a good thing. It was even worse to be in love with Sirius, who was just plain beautiful. So he kept it to himself, just like he kept everything to himself.

In seventh year, the boy looked at a photograph Peter had taken with a Muggle camera the year before. It was sitting on Sirius’ beside table and it was of all the Marauders. The four boys were all bright. Smiling, laughing. Full of life. The boy was shocked to see himself look that way. He even thought he looked handsome. His ears weren’t so big. He wasn’t so pale. He looked confident. He didn’t understand how that happened. He sat on his friends bed and stared at the photo in disbelief.

“What are you doing, Moony?” Sirius asked, coming to sit next to him. “That’s my favorite photo of us. Of you, really.” Sirius blushed.

“I look like this?” The boy pointed to it, feeling so confused.

Sirius furrowed his brow. “What to you mean?”

“I — I look normal.”

“No…” Sirius shook his head and the boy felt his heart slowing beginning to break. “You look bloody gorgeous.”

“What?”

“You look amazing. You always do. I don’t get why you don’t see that.”

“But I’m ugly.”

“You’re anything but. Inside and out.”

“Why do you say this?”

“Because it’s true and I… I fancy you quite a bit, Remus Lupin.”

Remus blinked at him. He couldn’t understand how he had got there. But he was no longer an ugly little boy with scars. He was handsome and apparently fancied by the most beautiful boy in the world. He was just as happy and as full of life as his friends. He leaned forward and kissed Sirius on the lips.


End file.
